British Columbia has its first Wal-Mart Supercentre as the company opens the store in North Cowichan on the island. The second is scheduled to open in White Rock in the summer and the third in Westbank in September. The company has plans for increasing the square footage of the stores in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops. Word is that the Kelowna store has a construction schedule starting in September on the 40,000 square feet beside the present store. Once they get that underway it won’t be long before they will be tipping up the walls and before you know it, that store will be open with the Supercentre format I’m sure. Wal-Mart says it is the way of the future. What will happen to all those independents? There is tough competition and this isn’t the time to be fighting a price war but we have some very strong competitors that are efficient and focused...

Jeff Rubin, chief strategist of the CIBC World Market always has his neck stretched out there to the limit and his latest prediction, and you must admit he has made some pretty good ones, is for crude oil to hit $200 a barrel. The other economists don’t go quite that far and some are even predicting that according to history, this can’t keep going forever. Just remember, if forecasting was easy, everyone would be rich...

The officials couldn’t complete the search warrants fast enough. In the end, fourteen stores have been charged in the Vancouver marketplace for selling fake goods. What surprised me were the brands that were on the shelves for all to see and buy. Here are a few on that list: Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Head & Shoulders, Red Bull, Gucci purses, Nike, Adidas, Timberland, 2010 T-shirts, Motorcraft, AC Delco. The RCMP seized 2,034 items. Like everything else these days, we don’t have enough police and enforcement people to do the job that is necessary. What was scary for me on that list were the fake auto parts that could be very dangerous. Also there seems to be a large amount of Winter Olympics clothing and souvenirs out there for sale that have been counterfeited...

Apparently there were 98 damaged and repaired vehicles sold to individuals and dealers by ICBC from their chop shop. This is of course important and shameful for the corporation, but don’t you think using the facilities to repair and paint employees vehicles is right up there at the top of the list? How much business did they take away from the small shops out there trying to make a living?..

On May 14th, in Calgary, the Car Crazy Spring Auction will take place with 150 classic automobiles, trucks and motorbikes on the auction block...

One of the big success stories for the Loblaw stores is their very chic line of clothing, Joe Fresh. The chain is telling us that their lineup for fall 2008 will be more dressed up. The clothing is featured at SuperStore...

Are there water problems in the fields on Swamp Road? I understand there could be another delay in the start of the final construction of the new road. The preload on Swamp Road continues to squeeze the water out from underneath. The roadway is still settling. It certainly has been a problem out there for the engineers and probably the road has the perfect name...

We just heard that Nishi's Japanese Restaurant on Bernard downtown has closed permanently. Victor Nishi is working for St. Hubertus Winery as a marketer to Asian countries and assistant to the wine maker...

B.C. Solicitor General, John van Dongen, was in Washington with a delegation from the Pacific Northwest Economic Region to discuss a few issues, including the successful launch of the B.C. Enhanced Driver’s License program and the importance of a smooth border experience for travellers in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. He is hoping the enhanced driver's licenses can speed things up at the border and took their case to Washington. He joined representatives from Idaho, Oregon, Alaska and Washington for the meetings the end of last month with members of congress, the Canada-U.S. Inter-Parliamentary Group, and with the U.S. departments of Homeland Security. Topics include improving the Canada-U.S. border, climate action, energy and renewable energy opportunities...

Alberta is serious about not letting their people out of their sight during the coming holiday season. Travel Alberta is spending some big bucks to keep people home for the holidays. It is the biggest campaign ever launched by the organization as a travel booster and the campaign is designed to keep people home and attract people from B.C. and Saskatchewan. The battle is on as B.C. does exactly the same thing...

A Safeway spokesperson says that promoting its own store brands in marketing will help to boost revenue. Safeway has a good lineup of house brands and is one of the first companies in the food business in North America to carry their own brands.